Tokyo shares gain 1.08pc by noon

The Nikkei-225 index rose 103.27 points to 9,681.58. The Topix index of all first-section issues added 0.93 percent or 7.66 points to 833.30.

Investors have been closely watching events in Athens, where parliament is to vote this week on an unpopular package of austerity cuts demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

But news reports said banks and EU officials were moving closer to a plan where the banks would roll over half the money received from Greek debt into new 30-year bonds, giving Athens some breathing space if the vote fails.

"Market direction will come from Greece rather than data over coming days," Credit Agricole said in a note to clients.

But the recent volatility in markets is likely to persist, the note said, until a final resolution to the Greece debt problems are in place.

"While there is some optimism about debt rollovers, the many and varied uncertainties still to be resolved suggests that any improvement in risk appetite is highly tentative," the note said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

US stocks rallied Monday on the news from Europe.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.98 points (0.91 percent) to close at 12,043.56.

Gains in exporters lifted the market, with Honda Motor up 1.15 percent at 3,055 yen and Olympus up 1.26 percent at 2,720.

The euro firmed to $1.4307 from $1.4277 in New York late Monday and to 115.59 yen from 115.51.

Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, also said dealers may be expecting to see a marked improvement in the quarterly Tankan business sentiment survey due out Friday.

"Corporate forecasts and production restarts are pointing to a sharp V-shaped recovery in the second half of the year," following the March 11 natural disasters, he said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011